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WILLIAMSTOWN -- Local officials plan to seek an infusion of funding to prepare the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport for future development.
Airport Manager Ben Auville said he's been working with Wood County Economic Development Executive Director Lindsey Piersol on a proposal to add benched, developable space to the southeast of where the primary and secondary runways intersect.
The plan would make room for four 50,000-square-foot spec hangars, with other industrial buildings below them.
"It takes additional acreage and makes it buildable," Auville said. "It's taking advantage of what we have."
Because an airline flies into and out of the Mid-Ohio Valley airport, the facility receives federal funding annually through the Airport Improvement Program, but that is primarily to maintain runways, taxiways and other infrastructure, Auville said. Multiple airports around West Virginia have received significant state funding in recent years, but "we're the only airport that has not gotten state dollars for this type of development," he said.
A rendering Auville shared during last week's Wood County Airport Authority meeting showed four hangars larger than any at the airport now, plus three industrial buildings at a lower elevation. The hangars would be set on land slightly lower than the runway so as not to impact aviation operations, he said.
But Auville emphasized that that's just one possibility of how the site could ultimately look. It would depend on what type of industry and companies wanted to use it.
The area could appeal to various industries given its proximity to makers of materials like titanium and plastics, as well as power generation, Auville said. What's not nearby is accessible by road, river and rail.
Piersol said the goal of the efforts is to make sure the airport can apply for both state and federal funding in the future, by having a specific plan in place to present.
Any facilities constructed would be spec buildings, with the shells built but the floor not poured, Piersol said. That way, the interior can be furnished to meet the needs of a particular tenant.
"It's not built for anyone specific, but depending on who needs (it), the shell of the building and the utilities are there," Piersol said.
Auville noted the fill material to raise and bench the site will come from other airport property. That will free up an additional 10 to 12 acres, he said.
Authority member and former airport manager Terry Moore said during last week's meeting that the proposed hangars would be two-and-a-half times the size of the airport's largest hangar now. He called the proposal "a game changer."
"This would help the community and create jobs," authority member Andy Daniels said.
The hangars would be able to accommodate larger aircraft, as well as repairs or manufacturing, Auville said.
"It's not just what we have now, where most of our hangars are for aircraft storage," he said.
Officials plan to seek sponsorship from area legislators for funding for the project.
Auville said the benefits would be realized in the long term.
"The stuff we do now is going to impact the jobs and opportunities five, 10, 15 years from now," he said.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.